Created for the US Army Officers at the Command and General Staff School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; their spouses, Alumni, and Department of the Army Civilians. The purpose is to Share Their Experiences in the US Army with America. The views expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
What is the most exotic place the Army has taken you?
Could be a normal tour of duty, a temporary duty assignment, an exercise, or other opportunity provided due to the "needs of the Army."
4 comments:
Anonymous
said...
My name is Bill Bryan. I am the Supervisory Professor for the Team of instructors at the Fort Belvoir Intermediate Level Education (ILE) site. I recently retired as an Infantry Lieutenant Colonel after 24 years of service in the Army. More significant, I am a dependant spouse. My wife is still an active duty Soldier in the Army and my son is an active duty Airman in the Air Force.
During my 24 years in the Army, I’ve travelled to numerous exotic locations. The three most memorable are:
1987 – As a Captain in the 1st Ranger Battalion, my boss sent me to Dominica, in the Caribbean, to coordinate an exercise for the Battalion. The Prime Minister gave us full VIP access to the island. The island was NOT a safe place to vacation in 1987! http://www.avirtualdominica.com/home.cfm
1998 – As a Tactics Instructor at the Command & General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, I was part a team that toured various Military Staff Colleges in Asia. Most memorable was our stop in Kathmandu, Nepal. The US Ambassador coordinated a complete tour of Kathmandu for us.
2002 – As the Deputy Chief of Staff for SFOR11 in Bosnia, I flew to a remote resort about 40 miles north of Zagreb, Croatia to participate in a train-up for the British Forces preparing to deploy to Bosnia. Due to maintenance problems, I was stranded for a week at the resort.
As a Foreign Area Officer, the Army gave me the opportunity to travel to and live in several "interesting" places on planet Earth. I was assigned to Key West, Florida the Southernmost point in the continental US and only 90 miles from Cuba. Key West is truly a "unique" environment with a most interesting and diverse set of inhabitants (read wacko). Overseas, I was assigned in the Caribbean to the island nations of Haiti and later, Jamaica. Both are "exotic" in their own ways -Haiti with its political and social unrest combined with ecological devastation. Jamaica brings to mind tropical vacations, Rasta's and rum. While the above places are perhaps a bit more unusual, like all military members, I have also had the pleasure of living in multiple locations in the US, Europe and Korea. Each in their own unique way were exotic as well and contributed to my outlook on life and the world we live share.
I'm MAJ Ariel E. Axelrod, currently a student in the Army's Command & General Staff College at Fort Belvoir, VA. The views expressed in this post are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
Although I've had the honor of serving and visiting several unique locations throughout the world (Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Japan, Korea, Iceland, Germany, Kosovo, Austria to name a few), my time in the Ukraine will always be the most memorable.
My family is of Ukrainian descent and I had the chance to spend a month in the Ukraine training up the Polish-Ukrainian peacekeeping battalion as they were preparing for a deployment to Kosovo. During my time in the Ukraine I observed what life was once like for my great grandparents in "the old country."
Many Ukrainians haven't necessarily made the jump to the 20th, let alone 21st century simply because the former Soviet Union changed. For many, life still revolves around the small farming communities that rely on one another for trading of essential goods.
Additionally, I had the pleasure of attending Jewish religious services in a L'viv synagogue that still showed bullet holes in it from World War II. I had the opportunity to daven (pray) with Russian World War II veterans as well as some others who had chosen to attend the services one Friday evening. After services several us of joined the local rabbi and his wife for dinner at their home. The services and home hospitality will never be forogtten.
The best place that I have been, which I can thank the Army for is a tour in Alaska. My experience there began in the winter of 2000, and ended in the spring of 2003. Even though I grew up in a small town in rural South Louisiana and rarely saw snow, I still found the “Last Frontier” a wonderful experience. During the summertime, there is a saying that “anyone can be a great hunter or fisherman in Alaska”. This statement is very true because of the abundant fishing and hunting opportunities. As the long hours of darkness fade with the thaw of spring breakup, the call of nature is heard by everyone. Bear hunting is a big deal in the spring and fall. The normal limit was one black bear per year, and one brown bear every three years. The bear hunters in the Anchorage area typically use large rifles such as the .340 Winchester Magnum or .375 H&H bolt action rifles. My biggest regret from my tour in Alaska is that I never did get my bear rug, so I dream of the day that I’m able to return and shoot one. In addition to bears there are also moose, caribou, sheep, and even wolf available hunting available. My biggest pursuit while in Alaska was salmon fishing. The biggest of these fish is the King Salmon which can easily weigh over 60 lbs. The best bait that I found was a bright orange spinner made by the Fox Company. Apparently, the Salmon are so aggressive during their run up the creeks that they will strike at anything. The bright flashy spinner bait does the trick. I also had success using Salmon eggs. The logic behind using eggs is that the Salmon smell them and instinctively try to pick them up and move them. Once you hook a salmon, it is customary to yell “fish on!” as a warning to other nearby fisherman that you were about to begin battle with a very large fish. The warning would allow the others to reel in their baits in order to avoid entanglements. The limit on King Salmon was only five (5) fish over 25 inches per year. Although this was not a large limit, five medium size Kings could easily yield over a hundred pounds of fillets! The best fishing spot was in downtown Anchorage on Ship Creek. I preferred this location due to the fact that it was only 10 miles from work. Located on a few blocks from the Galleria Mall, Ship Creek displays the typical 27 foot fluctuation in tides that is characteristic of the higher latitudes. I typically timed my arrival at the Creek to occur a few minutes prior to the tide coming in. Once the tide reached my fishing point, it would only take a few casts to snag a big King which had been swimming in with the tide. As the days began to shorten and snow made its way down the mountains, everyone’s attention began to shift to winter activities. The opportunity to cross-country and down-hill ski was available everywhere and, for the military folks; MWR rented skis as well as provided lessons for beginners. Skimobiles were also very popular and in case of a heavy snowfall they were the only way to get around. In the end, I really enjoyed my experience in Alaska. Although it has been several years since I struck out on the Alcan Highway from my epic 5,000 mile drive to Texas I still miss it and look forward to returning with my family.
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4 comments:
My name is Bill Bryan. I am the Supervisory Professor for the Team of instructors at the Fort Belvoir Intermediate Level Education (ILE) site. I recently retired as an Infantry Lieutenant Colonel after 24 years of service in the Army. More significant, I am a dependant spouse. My wife is still an active duty Soldier in the Army and my son is an active duty Airman in the Air Force.
During my 24 years in the Army, I’ve travelled to numerous exotic locations. The three most memorable are:
1987 – As a Captain in the 1st Ranger Battalion, my boss sent me to Dominica, in the Caribbean, to coordinate an exercise for the Battalion. The Prime Minister gave us full VIP access to the island. The island was NOT a safe place to vacation in 1987! http://www.avirtualdominica.com/home.cfm
1998 – As a Tactics Instructor at the Command & General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, I was part a team that toured various Military Staff Colleges in Asia. Most memorable was our stop in Kathmandu, Nepal. The US Ambassador coordinated a complete tour of Kathmandu for us.
2002 – As the Deputy Chief of Staff for SFOR11 in Bosnia, I flew to a remote resort about 40 miles north of Zagreb, Croatia to participate in a train-up for the British Forces preparing to deploy to Bosnia. Due to maintenance problems, I was stranded for a week at the resort.
As a Foreign Area Officer, the Army gave me the opportunity to travel to and live in several "interesting" places on planet Earth. I was assigned to Key West, Florida the Southernmost point in the continental US and only 90 miles from Cuba. Key West is truly a "unique" environment with a most interesting and diverse set of inhabitants (read wacko).
Overseas, I was assigned in the Caribbean to the island nations of Haiti and later, Jamaica. Both are "exotic" in their own ways -Haiti with its political and social unrest combined with ecological devastation. Jamaica brings to mind tropical vacations, Rasta's and rum.
While the above places are perhaps a bit more unusual, like all military members, I have also had the pleasure of living in multiple locations in the US, Europe and Korea. Each in their own unique way were exotic as well and contributed to my outlook on life and the world we live share.
I'm MAJ Ariel E. Axelrod, currently a student in the Army's Command & General Staff College at Fort Belvoir, VA. The views expressed in this post are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
Although I've had the honor of serving and visiting several unique locations throughout the world (Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Japan, Korea, Iceland, Germany, Kosovo, Austria to name a few), my time in the Ukraine will always be the most memorable.
My family is of Ukrainian descent and I had the chance to spend a month in the Ukraine training up the Polish-Ukrainian peacekeeping battalion as they were preparing for a deployment to Kosovo. During my time in the Ukraine I observed what life was once like for my great grandparents in "the old country."
Many Ukrainians haven't necessarily made the jump to the 20th, let alone 21st century simply because the former Soviet Union changed. For many, life still revolves around the small farming communities that rely on one another for trading of essential goods.
Additionally, I had the pleasure of attending Jewish religious services in a L'viv synagogue that still showed bullet holes in it from World War II. I had the opportunity to daven (pray) with Russian World War II veterans as well as some others who had chosen to attend the services one Friday evening. After services several us of joined the local rabbi and his wife for dinner at their home. The services and home hospitality will never be forogtten.
The best place that I have been, which I can thank the Army for is a tour in Alaska. My experience there began in the winter of 2000, and ended in the spring of 2003. Even though I grew up in a small town in rural South Louisiana and rarely saw snow, I still found the “Last Frontier” a wonderful experience.
During the summertime, there is a saying that “anyone can be a great hunter or fisherman in Alaska”. This statement is very true because of the abundant fishing and hunting opportunities. As the long hours of darkness fade with the thaw of spring breakup, the call of nature is heard by everyone. Bear hunting is a big deal in the spring and fall. The normal limit was one black bear per year, and one brown bear every three years. The bear hunters in the Anchorage area typically use large rifles such as the .340 Winchester Magnum or .375 H&H bolt action rifles. My biggest regret from my tour in Alaska is that I never did get my bear rug, so I dream of the day that I’m able to return and shoot one. In addition to bears there are also moose, caribou, sheep, and even wolf available hunting available.
My biggest pursuit while in Alaska was salmon fishing. The biggest of these fish is the King Salmon which can easily weigh over 60 lbs. The best bait that I found was a bright orange spinner made by the Fox Company. Apparently, the Salmon are so aggressive during their run up the creeks that they will strike at anything. The bright flashy spinner bait does the trick. I also had success using Salmon eggs. The logic behind using eggs is that the Salmon smell them and instinctively try to pick them up and move them. Once you hook a salmon, it is customary to yell “fish on!” as a warning to other nearby fisherman that you were about to begin battle with a very large fish. The warning would allow the others to reel in their baits in order to avoid entanglements. The limit on King Salmon was only five (5) fish over 25 inches per year. Although this was not a large limit, five medium size Kings could easily yield over a hundred pounds of fillets! The best fishing spot was in downtown Anchorage on Ship Creek. I preferred this location due to the fact that it was only 10 miles from work. Located on a few blocks from the Galleria Mall, Ship Creek displays the typical 27 foot fluctuation in tides that is characteristic of the higher latitudes. I typically timed my arrival at the Creek to occur a few minutes prior to the tide coming in. Once the tide reached my fishing point, it would only take a few casts to snag a big King which had been swimming in with the tide.
As the days began to shorten and snow made its way down the mountains, everyone’s attention began to shift to winter activities. The opportunity to cross-country and down-hill ski was available everywhere and, for the military folks; MWR rented skis as well as provided lessons for beginners. Skimobiles were also very popular and in case of a heavy snowfall they were the only way to get around.
In the end, I really enjoyed my experience in Alaska. Although it has been several years since I struck out on the Alcan Highway from my epic 5,000 mile drive to Texas I still miss it and look forward to returning with my family.
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